Please select your home edition
Edition
X-Yachts Leaderboard 2024 1

Hyde Sails Under-19 Match Racing Championship 2021

by Richard Aspland 1 Jul 2021 08:18 PDT 26-27 June 2021

Youth teams taking part in the first-ever Hyde Sails Under-19 Match Racing Championship at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy took their battle for the podium down to the wire across a weekend of mixed conditions and close competition.

The title was claimed by Will Caiger, Tom Baulkwill and India Trenowden from Sevenoaks School in Kent after a five-race final saw them making a dramatic comeback from 2-0 down to win three races in a row for championship victory, with the team of Barty Gray, Adela Wilson and Harrison Procter from Cokethorpe School in Oxfordshire putting on the pressure to the end with an impressive performance to finish second overall.

The semi-finals were settled in equally dramatic style with the Snettisham Beach SC team of Eva Miller, Amelia Eaton and Matt Lloyd losing the first race against ILCA sailors Edward Baker, Tom Mitchell and Coco Barrett, but then recovering to win the next two for the third spot on the podium.

The RYA British Keelboat Sailing coached event saw seven teams competing for honours in Elliott 6Ms. Light and shifty winds on day one were ideal for learning the boats and tactics. Wet and windy conditions followed on day two before the breeze eased off towards the end to make for an interesting finals and knock-out series.

Launched to bridge the gap for youth sailors more familiar with dinghy racing, for many participants it was the first time they had skippered or crewed keelboats or taken part in match racing, and six mentors were on hand to jump in and out of the competing boats.

Eight teams had been due to take part but one was unable to make it after two sailors were sent home from school to self isolate due to Covid-19 restrictions. Race officer David Campbell-James, who presented the prizes, was able to run a double round robin followed by knock out stages and finals on day two, providing lots of short races and opportunities for learning.

Teamwork and determination

For the winning team - helmed by Will with Tom in the middle on main and India on bow - it was their first ever keelboat and match racing event, with all three more used to team racing in Fireflies. Summing up their event, Will said: "Having the mentors on call and in our boat was really helpful, especially on our first day with the basics of how the boat worked, as we had never sailed with a symmetric kite before, and team work is even more important in a keelboat so you really have to distribute the roles and communicate effectively.

"It was a real down to the wire final. We were a little bit nervous and Tom fell out of the boat just after the start of the first race and the other team won that one and then the second race. We were two nil down which was a tricky place to come back from but we fought our way back and won the last three in a row. We really enjoyed taking part. The Elliotts are really fast, really good racing boats to sail, and we loved the event as an introduction not only to keelboats but also to match racing."

The lighter conditions of day one suited the Snettisham Beach team, who were sailing 30kg under weight but also managed to hold on in the breezy conditions of day two and continued to sail well as the wind eased for the final part of the series. All aged 16, the three friends in this team grew up sailing Toppers together and had likewise never raced keelboats or tried match racing before.

At the helm was Eva, who now sails ILCA 4s and is looking forward to taking the knowledge gained back to her fleet racing and to future match racing events. She said: "I really enjoyed the event and how the races were quite short. We definitely improved on our tactics and we learnt so much. We made the overall decisions but the mentors did suggest what they might do or what might be fast and because they swapped in and out after every race it was really good to have a different perspective each time. It was mostly with the pre-start that they helped us with tactics. The starts were quite intense and very different to fleet racing but good fun."

Asked for a key takeaway from the weekend, Eva added: "Probably just not to give up because we definitely thought we were out of the last race but ended up winning it. We were behind off the line and managed to catch up and get the lead downwind and to finish the event in third was amazing!"

Mentoring the next generation

Jack Fenwick, RYA Keelboat Sailing Development Manager, said: "Having the mentors able to help the sailors made a huge difference and they were key to the success of the whole weekend because it's a very steep learning curve, moving young sailors into something so different to what they're used to, and it meant that even those who were not winning were still learning and enjoying it.

"We had some pretty great races and I'm really happy that we had lots of youth sailors who had a great time doing something they never thought they'd be able to do, I'm genuinely thrilled."

Among the mentors were experienced match racing sailors and keelboat coaches Patrick Bray, Sophie Otter and Ted Blowers, who commented: "It was an enjoyable experience to teach others and pass on the sport to sailors who haven't necessarily tried match racing. My favourite match was the final because it comes to the point where the result is riding on that one race - it's basically the weekend decider in a matter of 20 minutes - and you can tell everyone is really keen to win and trying their hardest. It brings out the best of their ability under pressure and it was great to see the excitement on their faces when they did well."

Patrick said: "I think everyone improved over the weekend considerably, not only tactically but also the boat handling got far better. It was good to be on the water and getting new perspectives for us in terms of sailors doing a different role and hopefully we were able to impart something useful."

Sophie added: "Everyone progressed a lot from the standard on Saturday morning to the races we were seeing at the end of Sunday. I think it was valuable for them to have mentors because we could talk them through situations just after they'd happened and we really saw a lot of match racing on the Sunday which was quite impressive, especially from people who haven't match raced before, so I think there's great potential for the future of British match racing."

The U-19 title winners have now qualified to take part in the National Match Racing Championship Grand Final in RS21s at Queen Mary SC in October 2021.

The next event in the RYA Match Racing series will be the sell-out weekend in 707s at Royal Corinthian YC, Burnham, 10-11 July, followed by two events in Elliotts at WPNSA in September, with entries now open for the Harken Youth Championships and Marlow Ropes Women's Championships.

To find out more about RYA Match Racing and all upcoming events, visit www.ryamatchracing.co.uk

Related Articles

2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA overall
A tense light-air final on the Severn River USA's women's match racing team Team Baam skippered by Allie Blecher from California won the 2025 Santa Maria Cup today, defeating Vela Racing team skippered by Nicole Breault 3-0 in a tense light-air final on the Severn River. Posted on 8 Jun
2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA Day 3
Nicole Breault and Allie Blecher to meet in the final USA's Nicole Breault / Vela Racing and Allie Blecher / Team Baam have both advanced to the final of the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, the second stage of the 2025 Women's World Match Racing Tour championship. Posted on 7 Jun
2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA Day 2
Final four skippers emerge from a competitive qualifying double-round robin stage A thrilling second day of racing at the 2025 Santa Maria Cup saw the final four skippers emerge from a competitive qualifying double-round robin stage. Posted on 6 Jun
CYCA and RFBYC announce partnership
To host Australia's premier match racing events The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club are pleased to announce a joint partnership between the two Clubs to host Australia's premier match racing events in January each year. Posted on 5 Jun
2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA Day 1
Racing in Women's World Match Racing Tour Event 2 underway Perfect conditions graced the opening day of the 2025 Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, USA, Stage 2 of the 2025 Women's World Match Racing Tour following the tour season opener in San Francisco last week. Posted on 5 Jun
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club overal
Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy team claimed a decisive victory French match racing skipper Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy team claimed a decisive victory on Saturday at the 2025 Casa Vela Cup, held in the iconic waters of San Francisco Bay and hosted by the St.Francis Yacht Club. Posted on 1 Jun
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 3
Pauline Courtois will meet Nicole Breault in the final Defending women's match racing world champion Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite team from France will meet USA's Nicole Breault/ Vela Racing in the final of the 2025 Casa Vela Cup in San Francisco. Posted on 31 May
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 2
Another flawless day for top-ranked French skipper Pauline Courtois and her team Another thrilling day of racing with top-ranked French skipper Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite Team continuing their unbeaten streak with fifteen straight wins in the qualifying round robin stage, asserting a dominant lead. Posted on 30 May
Casa Vela Cup 2025 at St Francis Yacht Club Day 1
San Francisco turns it on for opening day of Women's Match Racing The opening day of the Casa Vela Cup 2025 hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco kicked off the 2025 Women's World Match Racing Tour in spectacular fashion with ten of the world's top all-female match racing teams Posted on 29 May
Int'l Youth Match Racing Champs dates released
RPAYC announce the dates for the 2025 Harken International Youth Match Racing Championship RPAYC is pleased to announce the dates for the 2025 HARKEN International Youth Match Racing Championship, with the 31st edition set to again be conducted on the beautiful waters of Pittwater, scheduled to occur 19 to 23 November 2025. Posted on 21 May
Exposure MarineNorth Sails Loft 57 PodcastRooster 2025